Blizzard Entertainment's next MMO project, currently an enigma in its scope and subject matter, will be a free-to-play game, according to a Develop report. This is according to a Develop source "connected to the matter." Blizzard had no comment on the story. Blizzard has been on the margins with the model, having dipped its toe ever so slightly in it by making World of Warcraft "free" up to level 20.

While Blizzard won't confirm this news, the company has said in the past that it would seriously consider using the business model if it thought it was "right."

"It certainly is possible, if we find ourselves in that circumstance, or if we come up with a game where we think that’s the right business model, the most appropriate for players to experience it," Blizzard COO Paul Sams said during BlizzCon 2011. "We don’t have any opposition to the concept, it’s just that at this point we haven’t decided to make a game where that is the model. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t."

Of course, answering a question about a hypothetical scenario in 2011 does not a confirmation make in 2012.